


Lucy's Adventure

by AlexinBrum



Series: Bigwoods in Time and Space [2]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:42:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23780254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexinBrum/pseuds/AlexinBrum
Summary: Lucy just wants to get home, but when a mysterious stranger appears, she ends up taking an unexpected detour.
Series: Bigwoods in Time and Space [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713127





	Lucy's Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this series of stories in 2013 - one each as Christmas presents for my three nieces, who were aged 14, 12 and 9 at the time. Without telling them I was planning to write the stories, I asked them where and when they would travel to, and based the stories on what they said. It was wonderful to give them the chance to travel in the TARDIS, even if it was just in their imaginations.

Lucy stood shivering on the pavement, coat wrapped tightly around her, flute case clutched closely to her chest. Mummy was late picking her up. Again. ‘Great,’ she grumbled to herself as it started to drizzle. She decided to walk. After all, she was now twelve years old, and it wasn’t that far. Mummy would turn up any minute anyway, and if she thought she was getting any more foot massages this week, she was very much mistaken.

\--------

437 billion miles away and 6823 years in the future the Doctor was bored. He’d checked his mobile, inspected the psychic paper, scanned the nearest galaxy for distress signals and sorted all his socks into mismatched pairs. Idleness did not suit him. He needed a distraction, an adventure. ‘What do you say Old Girl, pot luck?’ He spun around the console, pulling levers and flicking switches as he went. The TARDIS lurched sideways, throwing him off his feet. ‘Geronimo!’ he laughed.

\--------

Lucy had been walking for nearly ten minutes and there was still no sign of her stupid mother. Her hair was soaking and plastered to her scalp and she was really hoping that the flute case was waterproof enough to keep her precious instrument dry. The sun was beginning to dip in the sky and Lucy was starting to worry. She really didn’t want to be walking alone in the dark. Where was mummy? Why hadn’t she come for her?

She was startled by an eerie screeching sound that echoed through the trees so that it was hard to tell where it came from. Lucy stopped and looked around to see what was causing it, but as suddenly as the sound had started, it stopped, leaving nothing but the steady drip drip drip of the rain. ‘Odd,’ thought Lucy, and continued walking.

She was nearing the junction now, the junction with the Beehive pub, where she’d have to turn right along a much bigger, busier road. She didn’t like this. Not one bit. She stopped on the corner feeling her saturated socks squelch in her shoes and cold rainwater trickle down her collar. She didn’t want to go on, but she couldn’t stay here either. Suddenly a man burst round the corner and nearly ran into her, stopping just short of trampling all over her toes. ‘Sorry! Sorry! My fault!’ he exclaimed with a grin. ‘Could you tell me where I am? Or when I am?’ His face was suddenly serious and he peered intently into her eyes. ‘Hold on - how old are you? You shouldn’t be walking around here by yourself.’

Lucy wanted to answer, but she hesitated. She knew she shouldn’t talk to strangers, but there was something different about this man. He was clearly an adult, but in some ways he seemed much younger, younger even than Lucy’s little sister Phoebe. He was all arms and legs and floppy hair, more like a giant puppy than a person. Her head was telling her not to say anything and run for help. But her instinct was telling her that this funny man meant her no harm and might be able to help her get home. And getting home was what Lucy wanted more than anything.

Not knowing what to do, Lucy did the only thing she could and burst into tears.

‘Woah there! Hey, it’s OK, no need for waterworks,’ the leggy puppy man said, dropping to his knees so he could look Lucy in the face. ‘What’s your name?’

‘I’m not allowed to talk to strangers,’ sobbed Lucy.

‘Quite right too. Sensible girl. Let me introduce myself.’ He held out gigantic fingers. ‘Hello. My name’s The Doctor. I am an official friend of lost and upset children.’

Lucy looked down at his offered hand, then up at his face with a skeptical frown. She didn’t take his offered hand, but she did stop crying.

‘My, my, you are a very sensible girl. I like that. Good. Lucky for us both I have my ID card on me.’ He reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded leather wallet, flipping it open and showing Lucy the contents. She peered at it through the gathering gloom and saw a very official looking card bearing a photo of the man in front of her with the title ‘Department of Families, Official Friend of Lost and Upset Children’.

She hesitated for a second, then decided to trust him. She held out her hand. ‘My name is Lucy. Lucy Bigwood. Nice to meet you.’

He shook her hand enthusiastically. ‘Nice to meet you too, Lucy Bigwood. Now, tell me, what are you doing out here all by yourself? Shouldn’t there be someone looking after you?’

‘My mummy was meant to pick me up after my flute lesson, but she didn’t come. So I started walking. Then it started raining and now it’s getting dark and I’m a bit scared. Can you help me get home please?’

‘Can I get you home? Can I get you home? Of course I can get you home, Lucy Bigwood! And I’ll give your mother a jolly good telling off when I do.’ He paused. ‘Does she forget you a lot?’ he asked, his face suddenly serious again.

‘No, never. She’s sometimes a few minutes late, but she’s never forgotten me before. I hope she’s OK.’ Lucy had been too busy being angry before, it hadn’t occurred to her that maybe there’d been some kind of emergency. Or an accident.

‘I’m sure she’s absolutely fine,’ The Doctor said with certainty, and even though Lucy knew he didn’t know any more than she did, she still felt a lot better. ‘She’s probably just got confused,’ he continued. ‘Adults get that way sometimes. They have to worry about all sorts of complicated things like having enough cheese in the fridge and buying string.’

Lucy giggled. Her mum was fine, and she had a funny new child man puppy friend who would definitely look after her. Everything was going to be OK.

‘So, if we’re going to get you home and dry, we’d better start with where we are now,’ he said.

‘Are you lost too?’

‘Not lost exactly. Just, getting my bearings. So where are we?’

‘On Burwash Road.’

‘And that would be in...?’

‘In Heathfield.’

‘Right, Heathfield, of course! And just remind me which country...’

‘Which country? Wow, you really are lost!’ Lucy’s hopes that her new friend would help her get home were vanishing fast. Her smile faded. ‘It’s in England. England, UK, Europe, Earth. Look, maybe I should just go back to the school and wait for my mum. Or go into the Beehive and ask to use their phone.’

‘Those are excellent plans. Really. Completely brilliant plans.’ He grinned. ‘You, Lucy Bigwood, are a very clever girl. Both of those plans would definitely work.’

‘Cool. So which should I do, do you think? Plan A or Plan B?’

The Doctor stood up and looked down at Lucy. He had a curious look in his eyes, a naughty sparkle, and a smirk on his face. ‘You could try Plan C,’ he said.

‘Plan C?’

He walked to the corner, the corner he had burst around when he first appeared, then turned and looked back towards Lucy. He raised one of his long thin fingers and beckoned her towards him. Lucy walked slowly towards the curb, still clutching her flute. When she arrived, he pointed towards the pub opposite and and asked, ‘What do you see?’

‘Nothing. Just a carpark.’

‘Come on Lucy Bigwood. You can do better than that. Look carefully.’

And as Lucy looked, she saw a blue box, about the size of a large wardrobe, standing right in the middle of the tarmac. She couldn’t understand why she hadn’t seen it the first time. Perhaps it was the twilight playing tricks on her.

‘I can see a big blue box,’ she said.

The Doctor smiled. ‘Excellent. I knew you weren’t just an ordinary girl.’

‘But what is it?’

‘Let me show you.’

The Doctor waited until the road was clear, then grabbed her hand and skipped over to the box, literally skipped, like a little girl in the school playground. When they got to it, slightly out of breath, he let go of Lucy’s fingers, whipped around, leant back against the woodwork and snapped his fingers. A door swung open, flooding the car park with warm, orange light. Lucy could hear a faint hum coming from inside. She looked at the Doctor with narrowed eyes, a curious smile playing on her lips. The Doctor grinned, as if he knew the best secret in the world and was about to share it with her.

‘Go on,’ he said, ‘Take a look.’

She tiptoed slowly towards the humming glow, which grew louder with every step. As she reached the opening and craned her neck inside she jumped back shocked. ‘No way!’ she declared in wonder and turned wide eyes on her mysterious friend. Excitement and pride danced in his eyes. ‘Yes way,’ he said with a smirk.

Lucy turned her eyes back to the box. The box the size of a wardrobe, standing in the middle of a rainy street in Burwash, the box which seemed to contain the biggest, brightest room she had ever seen in her life, filled with switches and lights and screens and levers and so much that she couldn’t even take it all in.

‘What is it?’ was all she managed to gasp.

‘This, Lucy Bigwood, brave, clever, sensible, flute playing Lucy Bigwood, is my beautiful TARDIS. She can travel in all space and all time and, most importantly of all, she can take you home. Shall we go for a ride?’

‘Yes please!’ Lucy grinned so hard her face hurt.

‘Excellent answer!’ And the next minute she was trotting after the Doctor as he wheeled and danced his way to the big desk in the middle of the enormous space. The door swung closed behind them. ‘So, home. What’s the address?’

‘Oakdown Cottage, Ticehurst Lane. Burwash Common. Do you want the postcode?’

‘Nah, that should be enough for the TARDIS to get us where we need to go, eh Old Girl?’ He was actually talking to his space ship. Time machine. Space ship time machine. It didn’t answer back, but it did lurch into life with the same screeching sound Lucy had heard in the street earlier, the column in the middle moving up and down like a giant bicycle pump. ‘Don’t worry. we’ll have you home in no time.’

And then Lucy had a thought which made her heart thump in her chest with excitement. Space ship. Time machine. She was in a space ship time machine.

‘Can the TARDIS really go anywhere?’ she blurted out.

The Doctor stopped pushing buttons and looked straight at her. ‘Oh yes.’ The naughty twinkle was back in his eye. But after a second, he went back to the console and continued twizzling the dials.

‘And can it really travel in time?’

He paused again, leaning nonchalantly on the desk. ‘Any where, any when.’

‘Past, present and future?’

‘From the dawn of time to the end of the universe.’

Lucy’s mind was racing. Could she really ask? She hardly knew him. She should get home. Her socks were soaking wet.

‘What are you thinking?’ he asked, suddenly serious again and looking at her very intently.

‘I’m thinking... DINOSAURS!’ She waited nervously, biting her lip, holding her breath.

His serious face suddenly burst into the biggest grin she had ever seen. 

‘Dinosaurs it is then!’ he proclaimed, clapping his hands, twirling round and leaping over to the other side of the console, where he threw a huge, red lever. She lost her footing and staggered as the TARDIS lurched to the side.

By the time the machine had become stable enough for Lucy to regain her balance, she noticed that the Doctor was had somehow managed to find time to change his bow tie and put on a fez. 

‘Ready?’ he asked.

‘We’re there already?’ 

“Certainly are. Well, we should be. We probably are. Never one hundred percent until you open the door. Want to do the honours?’

‘Yes please!’ said Lucy, but she hesitated. ‘I’m a bit nervous.’

‘No need to worry. There’s a protection field around the TARDIS. If we’ve gone a little astray, dematerialised at the bottom of the sea, or inside a volcano, we’ll still be safe in here. Go on, take a look outside.’

Lucy went up to the door and gripped the latch. Just an ordinary door latch. Could there really be another world on the other side? Taking a deep breath, she pulled the door towards her and gasped. Outside the TARDIS, where there should have been a dark and rainy English pub car park, there was a forest. But it wasn’t the type of forest Lucy had seen in the UK and France. It was warmer and wetter, the trees were bigger with giant leathery leaves and the forest floor was thick with enormous ferns. It definitely wasn’t Heathfield.

‘Bingo!’ said the Doctor, ‘let’s go!’, and he bounded past Lucy, bouncing though the ferns like an excited rabbit. ‘Come on Lucy Bigwood! We’ve got dinosaurs to find.’

Lucy took a big step out into the unknown, the door swinging closed behind her. And then she was walking, her legs swiping through warm, wet leaves and colourful flowers which left streaks of orange pollen across her school jumper. It was hard work keeping up with the Doctor, dragging her limbs through the knee-high undergrowth, and it wasn’t long before she was really tired.

‘Wait!’ she called, ‘I need to stop for a bit,’

She bent over, hands on her knees, taking big gulps of air to get her breath back. She could hear the Doctor making his way over to her through the foliage. But as her breathing became quieter, she heard another sound echo through the trees. A kind of rustling sound. Mixed with a sort of thumping, drumming sound. With extra crunching and cracking. 

‘Uh oh.’ said the Doctor. 

‘What?’

‘Run!’

He grabbed her hand and was dragging her through the forest. Behind them the mysterious sound was getting closer, and louder. Suddenly the Doctor was pulling her up into one of the smaller trees, yanking her by the arm up onto a low branch and holding her tightly against the trunk.

‘Hold on,’ he said, ‘I’ve got you.’

It was only then that Lucy saw what they’d been running from. 

Stampeding through the forest were dozens, maybe even hundreds of dinosaurs. They weren’t the massive ones Lucy had studied at school - Triceratops, Diplodocus, Tyrannosaurus. No, these were smaller - about three metres long - and covered in knobbly, scaly body armour. There were so many it looked like a river, as they poured round the tree, the whole forest vibrating with the pounding of their galloping feet. Lucy held on tight, to the tree and to the Doctor. They didn’t look like the sort of dinosaur that would eat you, but she didn’t fancy being trampled to death.

It took several minutes for the whole herd to pass by, taking the crashing noise with them as they disappeared back into the forest. 

‘Whaddya think then?’ asked the Doctor, looking rather impressed with himself. 

‘Amazing!’ said Lucy. ‘What sort of dinosaur are they? And why are they running like that?’

‘They’re a type of Ankylosaur - Minmi, I think you call them. They’re vegetarian and a bit slow. And a bit stupid. But they are definitely dinosaurs.’

‘Sound like my Aunty Ali.’ giggled Lucy.

‘Do they indeed? Well, no one really knows why some animals stampede like that, but lots of them do. Elephants, walruses, even humans. Maybe you should ask your Aunty Ali, maybe she would know.’

The Doctor swung himself awkwardly off the branch and landed on the forest floor in a pile of arms and legs, bouncing to his feet like he was made of rubber. He held his arms out towards Lucy, and she pushed herself off and landed safely in his hands before he set her gently down on the ground.

‘I suppose I should be getting you home now,’ he said, ‘Before anything... untoward happens.’ Before she could ask what he meant, Lucy was interrupted by a movement and a rustling sound in the undergrowth behind him. The Doctor wheeled round towards the sound, one arm pushing Lucy protectively behind his back and the other whipping out what looked like a tiny torch from his jacket pocket. He held it out in front of him and braced himself for what was coming. Out from between the bushes lurched one of the Minmi, but this one wasn’t running, it was limping.

When it saw the Doctor in its way, it stopped, front leg held off the ground, and gave a plaintive cry.

‘It’s hurt!’ said Lucy, tears springing in her eyes. ‘It’s hurt and it’s lost its family. Oh the poor thing.’ She came out from behind the Doctor and took a step towards the creature.

‘Careful,’ he said. ‘Animals are unpredictable when they’re in pain. It may not be a Tyrannosaurus, but it’s still big enough to do you some damage.’

‘I know,’ said Lucy. ‘I’ve got lots of animals at home and I’m going to be a vet when I grow up. He’s just scared. If we get down to his level and don’t stare too much he’ll know we don’t want to hurt him.’

Lucy ripped off a couple of leaves from a nearby plant and held them out to the Minmi in an open hand. She bent down until she could look straight into its eyes and crept forward, taking tiny, careful steps making sure to look away every now and then to show she wasn’t a threat. The Minmi sniffed at her, looked at the leaves, then tried to move forward. As it put its weight on its injured foot, it gave a howl of pain and moved back again.

‘Shhh, shhh, it’s OK,’ she whispered as she moved closer. The Minmi finally let her get right up to it, close enough for it to take one of the leaves and start munching. ‘Is there anything we can do?’ she asked. ‘You are a doctor, after all.’ The Doctor thought for a moment.

‘If I can get close enough, I could knock him out. Then we could take a look at that leg. But I might not be able to fix it. He is a wild animal and it’s a tough world out there. If you have pets yourself you’ll already know. Sometimes...’

‘Sometimes you have to put them out of their misery,’ said Lucy sadly. ‘I know. But that’s better than leaving him to suffer.’

‘Absolutely. But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. OK, I need to get close enough to touch him, so keep him relaxed and eating.’

The Doctor inched slowly closer, making calming noises and holding out his hand. The Minmi was wary, but didn’t move away. Eventually the Doctor was able to place his palm on the Minmi’s head. He gave it a reassuring stroke.

‘That’s it, old chap. Won’t hurt a bit.’ He placed his fingers carefully either side of the creature’s head, then closed his eyes. The Minmi’s eyelids drooped and its legs gave way, his bulky body sinking gently onto the mossy ground.

‘Woah! How did you do that?’ 

‘Little Timelord trick. He won’t be out for long. Let’s take a look at that leg.’

The Doctor took out his funny torch thing again and pointed it at the Minmi. He pressed a button and it glowed green and made a high pitched buzzing sound. He ran it up and down the damaged leg. ‘Nothing broken,’ he declared. ‘That’s a good sign. And I can’t see any blood either. Maybe it’s just a sprain.’

‘Or maybe it’s this,’ said Lucy, pointing at a big, jagged stone firmly wedged in the bottom of the Minmi’s foot and oozing dark red blood.

‘Aha! You are brilliant!’ he declared. ‘Of course that’s it! Are you OK to get it out?’

The stone was lodged quite deeply into the Minmi’s leathery foot, but with a bit of wiggling Lucy was able to dislodge it and throw it deep into the undergrowth. The hole that was left filled with scarlet as the blood started flowing more freely. 

‘We need to disinfect the wound, then pack it tightly to stop the bleeding,’ said Lucy, ‘But I’ve no idea how to do that.’

‘Let me,’ said the Doctor, then held his strange electronic device close to the jagged hole and made it buzz again. Soon there was no new blood and the old blood had started to congeal. ‘Grab me a big handful of moss,’ he ordered. While Lucy was doing that, he went to a nearby tree and yanked off a couple of long, thin tendrils that were hanging down. Crouching beside the Minmi, he stuffed the wound full of moss, gave it another electronic blast, then wrapped it all up with the long foliage. 

‘Right,’ he said, ‘that should stop the bleeding and I think I’ve been able to eradicate all the bacteria. Hopefully this dressing will give the foot time to heal before it rots away, leaving nothing but healthy, happy Ankylosaur behind. Whaddya think, Lucy Bigwood - time to wake him up?’

The Doctor bent down and reached out towards the Minmi’s head. ‘No! Wait!’ cried Lucy. The Doctor looked up in surprise.

‘We can’t leave him here - he’s all alone. We have to take him back to his family. And it’ll be much easier to do while he’s asleep.’

‘Good thinking. No, I mean it, really good thinking. You are brilliant. Of course we need to get him back to his family. You stay here - I’ll just nip back and get the TARDIS.’

The Doctor bounced off through the foliage and it wasn’t long before Lucy heard the screeching sound of the time machine as it materialised around her and the Minmi. One minute she was surrounded by trees, the next by electric lights. The Doctor was twizzling knobs and pulling levers and looking at a flickering black and white TV. 

‘I think this’ll do nicely,’ he declared, as the moving column in the centre became still. The Doctor pulled a large bunch of forest leaves from his pocket - Lucy guessed he must have picked them on his way back to the ship - and laid them out on the floor in a line from the Minmi to the exit. Then he turned the catch and pulled the door open, slowly and carefully. They were in another part of the forest and Lucy could just about make out a large group of Minmis grazing and shuffling about between the trees. 

‘Time to say your farewells,’ he said. ‘You’d better step back, because he’ll be a bit confused when he wakes up.’

‘Bye bye,’ said Lucy, stroking the Minmi’s head, before giving it a kiss on its nose, then standing up and stepping away. ‘Good luck.’

The Doctor knelt, placed his hands on its head, just as he had before, and closed his eyes. The Minmi began blinking and the Doctor leapt to his feet and backed away.

The animal shook its head, then stood up carefully, one foot at a time. The last one he put down was the injured one, now wrapped up in its leafy bandage. He straightened the leg carefully, then put his weight on it. He took a tentative step. No limp. It was only then he noticed the trail of leaves and decided to follow. He was slow at first, stopping to eat every leaf before moving onto the next one, but he was walking normally. Once he noticed the forest, he trotted out and took a massive mouthful of greenery from the nearest bush. And then he spotted the other Minmis. He let out a joyous snort and ran over to them. Lucy, watching from the TARDIS, could hear the grunts and honks they all made as they greeted each other. You didn’t have to speak dinosaur to know they were happy.

She turned back into the room with a huge grin. ‘That was brilliant,’ she said to the Doctor, who was standing leaning on the control desk, arms folded, warm smile on his face. ‘I’ve had such a good time. I didn’t just get to see dinosaurs, I got to meet one. I got to walk through an ancient forest, and help a hurt animal and take him back to its family. But, please, if you don’t mind, I’d really like to get back to my own family now.’

Without a word, the Doctor threw a lever, turned a dial and the TARDIS leapt into life once more. Seconds later he flicked a switch, pressed a button and the machine stilled again.

‘Home sweet home,’ he declared. 

Lucy ran towards the door, but stopped before she reached it. She turned around.

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Really. Thank you so much.’

The Doctor strode over and pulled her into his arms for the biggest hug she had ever had.

‘My pleasure Lucy Bigwood. Sensible, clever, kind, brilliant Lucy Bigwood. It was an honour to travel with you.’

As they broke apart she asked, ‘Will I ever see you again?’

‘Ah, well, ‘ever’ is a very long time. Who can tell? I certainly can’t. But I’ll tell you one thing.’

‘What’s that.’

‘I’ll never forget you.’ 

Lucy beamed. ‘I’ll never forget you either.’

‘Well, good. Oh, and, I lied. I said I’d tell you one thing, but I’m going to tell you another.’

Lucy waited.

‘You, Lucy Bigwood, are going to be an amazing vet. Possibly even the best vet the world has ever seen.’

‘Ever is a very long time.’

‘It certainly is.’

Lucy’s heart swelled. She took one more glance around the amazing magic box, then opened the door. They were parked on the lawn of her house, just a couple of feet from the conservatory. She stepped out then turned and waved to the Doctor as the door swung closed. She stood and watched, hair still dripping wet, socks still squelching in her shoes, soggy flute case clutched to her chest, as the TARDIS rasped and squealed and vanished into thin air. Then she turned and ran, ran as fast as she could into the house.

**Author's Note:**

> Seven years after I wrote this, Lucy no longer plans to be a vet, but hopes to help people instead - she's about to start a degree in Neuroscience.


End file.
